Seek God’s Righteousness
BRD REFLECTIONS:
(Lim BiXiu, PTM Children’s Ministry)
READ:
For this devotion, I have focused on James 3:
V1-2 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways.
V6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
V8-9 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
V11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
V17-18 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
OBSERVE:
This entire chapter focuses solely on the human tongue and what great destruction it can cause! Though small, it is capable of a world of unrighteousness and poison. Verse 11 shows that what comes out of the tongue reflects what is in the heart, and perhaps a warning sign to us, whether we are spiritually and emotionally healthy. The effects of an unhealthy person and his words are so destructive that James writes no human can tame the tongue. We need God’s help to do that, to be peaceable and seek righteousness from God; only then can we use our tongues to sow peace and goodness.
APPLY:
I am guilty at times of forgetting the effects my words can have on others, especially when I am feeling angry or upset. My husband reminds me that while we do share about what is upsetting us, being upset does not mean we need not watch our words and how they
can hurt others. While the world seems to say ‘you have a right to say whatever you feel, to follow your heart’, the Bible teaches us that our hearts are deceitful and the tongue is a restless evil.
DO:
I need God’s help to constantly be aware of how I speak at all times, to focus on sowing good despite how I may be feeling. To remember that some words, when
spoken, cannot be taken back. I need to keep close to God, beginning and ending each day with His Word, and be in prayer with God, so that I fill myself with what is good and loving. Most importantly, to have self-control. As I recall having been on the receiving end of hurtful words, to remember not to do that to others.
PRAY:
Heavenly Father, may you fill me with Your goodness and bring healing where I have been hurt by destructive words. May You help me be aware of my own words, and grant me wisdom and self-control to use my words wisely, to bring life.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
